weiden
to graze
Of animals: to eat grass in a pasture or meadow.
EXAMPLE
Die Kühe weiden friedlich auf der Wiese.
The cows graze peacefully in the meadow.
weiden
to graze / to gloat
weiden – weidete – hat geweidet
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Meanings
weiden
to pasture
To take animals to a pasture and look after them while they graze.
EXAMPLE
Der Schäfer weidet seine Schafe am Berghang.
The shepherd pastures his sheep on the mountainside.
sich weiden an
to gloat over
To take pleasure or delight in something, especially in other people's misfortunes or mistakes.
EXAMPLE
Er weidete sich am Misserfolg seines Konkurrenten.
He gloated over his competitor's failure.
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry weiden, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
Present
| ich | weide |
|---|---|
| du | weidest |
| er/sie/es | weidet |
| wir | weiden |
| ihr | weidet |
| sie | weiden |
Simple past
| ich | weidete |
|---|---|
| du | weidetest |
| er/sie/es | weidete |
| wir | weideten |
| ihr | weidetet |
| sie | weideten |
Perfect
with haben
| ich | habe geweidet |
|---|---|
| du | hast geweidet |
| er/sie/es | hat geweidet |
| wir | haben geweidet |
| ihr | habt geweidet |
| sie | haben geweidet |
Commands
| du | weide! weid! |
|---|---|
| ihr | weidet! |
| Sie | weiden Sie! |
Past perfect
| ich | hatte geweidet |
|---|---|
| du | hattest geweidet |
| er/sie/es | hatte geweidet |
| wir | hatten geweidet |
| ihr | hattet geweidet |
| sie | hatten geweidet |
Future
| ich | werde weiden |
|---|---|
| du | wirst weiden |
| er/sie/es | wird weiden |
| wir | werden weiden |
| ihr | werdet weiden |
| sie | werden weiden |
Subjunctive I
| ich | weide |
|---|---|
| du | weidest |
| er/sie/es | weide |
| wir | weiden |
| ihr | weidet |
| sie | weiden |
Used for reported speech.
Subjunctive II
| ich | weidete |
|---|---|
| du | weidetest |
| er/sie/es | weidete |
| wir | weideten |
| ihr | weidetet |
| sie | weideten |
Used for wishes and “would”.
Other forms
| infinitive | weiden |
|---|---|
| with zu | zu weiden |
| present participle | weidend |
| past participle | geweidet |
Usage tips
Word family
The verb 'weiden' (to graze) contains the noun 'die Weide' (pasture), meaning an area of grass for animals. This makes it easy to remember the connection with eating grass in a pasture.
EXAMPLE
Im Frühjahr weiden die Pferde wieder auf der großen Weide.
In spring, the horses graze in the large pasture again.
Accusative object
When a person takes animals to a pasture, the group of animals is the accusative object of 'weiden' (to pasture). The location is often also specified using 'auf' (on/in) or 'an' (at/by).
EXAMPLE
Der Bauer weidet seine Ziegen jeden Morgen auf der Wiese.
The farmer pastures his goats in the meadow every morning.
Fixed preposition
In its figurative sense, 'sich weiden' (to gloat) is used with 'an' and the dative case. It usually means that someone takes pleasure in other people's misfortunes, mistakes, or defeats.
EXAMPLE
Sie weidete sich an der Niederlage ihrer Gegnerin.
She gloated over her opponent's defeat.
Typical collocations
For grazing animals, 'weiden' (to graze) is often used with expressions of location such as 'auf der Weide' (in the pasture), 'auf der Wiese' (in the meadow), or 'auf der Alm' (in the alpine pasture). In this use, the verb can appear without an accusative object.
EXAMPLE
Die Schafe weiden den ganzen Nachmittag auf der Alm.
The sheep graze in the alpine pasture all afternoon.
In real life
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